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My heart pounded and my breathing deepened as I made my way up the steep grade toward my evening stand. By the way things were shaping up, my afternoon perch looked to be a prime location for an early season mountain whitetail hunt. The thick gray ceiling had lowered temps a good 10 degrees already, and the northwest wind was leading a dark, ominous cell in my direction. It looked like one of those typical mountain storms that comes fast, hits hard and temporarily lowers temps to near spring-like levels. Perfect conditions for getting deer on their feet—at least that’s what I was banking on.

I had hunted this same spot two mornings earlier, and the parade of deer that filtered by—most of which were bucks—was reason enough to try it out during the afternoon. Besides, even if I didn’t see a deer all evening, you wouldn’t hear me complaining. In just two days of hunting, I had already witnessed more than 50 deer under my stand and had seen more than 200.

As far as western whitetail hunting goes, I couldn’t ask for a better spot. It was a saddle situated between a bench and a lush, green alfalfa field. Although there were a couple other travel corridors the deer could use to get to the groceries, looking down from my towering ponderosa pine, it was apparent by the half dozen near cattle-like trails weaving below that it was a well-used spot. Needless to say, I was more than eager to grab my Hoyt, nock an arrow and wait for the buck parade to begin.

My first visitor strolled into view not 30 minutes after settling into my stand, just as the front began to push through. The reddish-tan remnants of his summer coat seemed to pop from the green mountain oak brush. His fuzzy headgear—although not big enough to earn an arrow—stood proud on his head. Like a young sentry standing guard, this small 8-pointer stood motionless as he surveyed the opening at the edge of the brush, looking for the remotest hint of danger. After his sixth sense had been satisfied, he headed on a trail not five steps from the base of my tree. His shoulders looked broad as he eased past, making for the perfect beginning to this afternoon sit.

More deer poured through shortly after he came and left, but it was the one that appeared at twilight that caused me to tighten my grip. He was different from the other bucks, both in size and color. His gray coat and bulky body were all I needed to clue me in on his age; the near 140-inch velvety rack was just confirmation. Not only were his physical characteristics different, but he walked with that proud, king of the woods walk.

For nearly a minute he stood at the edge of the brush attempting to inhale every molecule that rolled over the saddle, and as seconds passed his eyes scanned every ounce of his surroundings. Once satisfied, he made his way in my general direction, and although he could have taken any one of four trails that would have easily put him into bow range—and for a split second it appeared that he would—he picked the one that put him out of reach. I don’t have to tell you that it would have been nice to have hung my tag on that buck, but sometimes things are just not meant to be; at least hearing myself say that makes my wounds heal easier.

Two days later I ended up taking the buck I was after. Although he wasn’t the biggest buck I’d seen that trip, his heavy, wide rack and pig-like body were the perfect ending to this western whitetail hunt. The West! For many hunters whitetails are the last thing on their mind when they envision chasing fur and bone in this region of the country. Wide-racked mossbacks and bugling bull elk are more of what’s on the menu. But when you consider the sheer number of whitetails in many parts of this vast region, the trophy potential that lurks here and the access to public ground, hunters who choose to overlook the opportunities in this ruggedly beautiful part of the country are amiss.

Need proof? Flip through the pages of the 12th edition of the B&C record book. There are more than fifty 200-plus-inch non-typicals listed there with the top three being a 267 4/8-inch Idaho giant, a 261 5/8-inch Wyoming brute and a second 257 6/8-inch stud from the Gem State. Typicals make an impressive showing as well, with the top three coming from the lush hills of northwestern Montana. The top buck is a 199 2/8-inch head-turner.

I also found some interesting facts about western whitetails that are worth mentioning:

Some of the best hunting for western whitetails is found in Idaho, Montana and eastern Washington. For a hunter looking to spend some time chasing these big, tough northwestern monarchs, heading into any one of these states is a good bet. But to have your best chance at a buck sporting bone in the 140-inch range, you might want to start thinking about a trip into the panhandle of Idaho or eastern Washington. Not only do deer numbers (and mature bucks) abound in these regions, most of the best hunting opportunities are found on prime public ground.

According to Josh Potter, who heads the Inland Northwest Branch of the Quality Deer Management Association, Washington offers some of the best whitetail hunting in the country. In fact, over the past few years Potter has managed to arrow a couple 140-plus-inch bucks on some of Washington’s public ground. Even one of his buddies, who has hunted whitetails throughout the country, told him recently that Washington is the most overlooked region for hunting whitetails—the cat’s out of the bag now.

Although farmland whitetails can be found in the river bottoms and shelterbelts throughout the eastern half of the state, Potter’s experience has pointed him to the evergreen-timbered region of the Northeast. This is a broad area, but he suggests willing western whitetail enthusiasts spend time in units 101 through 136. “Deer numbers are excellent here—in fact there are too many deer—and I see nice 130- to 150-inch deer regularly,” Potter said.

Idaho Fish and Game big game manager Brad Compton says finding whitetails isn’t hard if you’re in the Clearwater and Panhandle regions of northern Idaho. Just about all of the areas north of the Salmon River hold an expanding number of whitetails. So much so that whitetail hunters typically have a success rate of 40 percent. That’s not too shabby considering most were killed on public land.

Compton also pointed out that some of the better units to find whitetails are 10A, 15 and 16. “Excellent deer hunting is found in these units as well as good numbers of 3- to 5-year-old bucks,” Compton says, “and it’s not uncommon to see numerous older bucks during a hunt.”

Montana is also a top destination. We’ve all seen the opportunity in the river bottoms of eastern Montana, but if it’s public ground and bruiser bucks you’re after, take a look at northwestern Montana. The Treasure State’s top bucks come from these public land hills. In fact, Montana has produced more B&C whitetails than any other western state with most coming from Flathead County in northwest Montana.

You can’t overlook Colorado or Wyoming either. Although these states offer the least public access as far as whitetails go, room to roam can be found in the Black Hills of northeastern Wyoming and along the river bottoms of eastern Colorado. In fact, Colorado offers more than 30,000 acres of public ground along the Platte and Arkansas rivers, and whitetails have been expanding in this region to the point that the Colorado Division of Wildlife now offers whitetail only tags. I got mine in the mail last month.

When it comes down to it, it really doesn’t matter where you plan to hunt whitetails out west this fall. Although they may not rise to the standards of those Midwestern brutes, there are plenty of them, and you just might be surprised with what you’ll find.

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